Lost and Found
by Seriously Facetious
Summary: After Jack saves the little sister of Jamie's babysitter, the three of them decide to do something for the Guardian by finding out what happened to his little sister and her descendants. Meanwhile, something dark stirs in the shadows, something far more sinister than even Pitch could have predicted.


AN: I recently watched Rise of the Guardian's and loved it. Hence this. Sort of have a direction and will continue if people are interested 3

She hadn't meant to wander so far from her backyard. It just sort of happened. At first, it hadn't been a problem. Lily was certain she'd be able to find her way back home. She'd spent hours upon hours in the woods behind her house, but then again, she'd always been with her older sister who always seemed to know the way back. Dawn knew Lily liked to explore by herself so the seventeen year old had tied bright pink and purple ribbons around multiple trees to create a perimeter for Lily to venture. Of course, Lily had decided to day would be the day to go beyond the ribbons and prove to Dawn she could take care of herself. So, of course, today would be the day she would get hopelessly lost. She closed her eyes tight, trying hard not to cry. The sun was starting to go down. It was cold and would only get colder. She wished she'd worn her other jacket like Dawn always made her do but she hated it because it made her look like a marshmallow. At the moment, she wouldn't mind looking like a marshmallow if it meant being warm.

Lily turned around in a small circle, but the trees still all looked the same, and none of them had a pink and purple ribbon. How far away had she walked? It really hadn't seemed all that long, but the grumbling in her stomach suggested it had been a while since her after school snack. She should have just stayed inside.

With no better ideas and increasingly tired feet, Lily sat at the base of a snow-covered tree, hugged her knees into her chest, and started to cry. No one knew she was out here, and Dawn didn't get off work until after dark on Tuesdays. She just wanted to be found – even if Dawn would be mad at her for having gotten lost again. It didn't matter if she was grounded for the rest of her life. She promised to whatever higher being might be listening that she'd never beg Dawn to let her stay home by herself again like she had earlier today, or to wander off, or, and with the intensity only a lost child could muster, she'd swore talk back to her teachers at school if only someone found her.

A few hours later…

Something was wrong. Jack could feel it as soon as he entered the familiar boundaries of Burgess. To make matters worse, Jamie hadn't been at home. In fact, none of the kids or adults he normally visited had been at home. Something was definitely very, very wrong. The thought that somehow Pitch had snuck back into Burgess while he'd been away spreading frost and fun in other nearby towns caused a cold knot to form in his gut. However, that didn't quite feel right. It had to be something else.

At last, he found them in the backyard of a house he'd never been too on the edge of town. However, the glee at having found Jamie and the other neighborhood gang (along with quite a few of the adults too) was quickly replaced with anxiety. The kids stood in a huddle, kicking at the snow with sullen expressions. The adults stood in their own huddle, talking in hushed whispers and holding coffee mugs as if expecting a long night. There were cops too. That was always a bad sign.

Jack lingered in the shadows of the house, trying to figure out the scene for himself before launching a small but well aimed snowball at Jamie's head. For a moment, Jamie looked shocked before realizing who his assailant was and for a brief moment a happy expression settled on his face. "Jack!" He nearly shouted but shushed himself at the last minute and motioned for the Guardian to join the group of children. Glancing at the adults, Jack hesitated for only a moment before going over. The adults were too distracted to notice that the kids seemed now to be clustered around something in particular rather than just clumped together. Then again, adults never saw things – even when they were obvious.

"Hey kiddo, what's going on?" Jack nodded his head towards the crowd of adults.

Jamie frowned and shuffled his head, "Lily Baker's missing. Her older sister came back from work and couldn't find her. I don't think we were supposed to find out, but Dawn called my mom and my mom was with Pippa's mom and yea…"

Jack frowned, an odd expression for him to wear, and looked over at the adults more closely. He could see Jamie's mom and whom he assumed to be Pippa's mom standing together with a teenager who had to be Dawn, the little girl's sister. She was talking rather heatedly at a cop who, although sympathetic, clearly didn't want to be out on a cold night like tonight but couldn't leave. Mrs. Bennett tried to calm down Dawn, but the teenager wouldn't have it. Eventually, Dawn stopped her heated pleading, but only because she was too focused on choking back her tears of anxiety and guilt. She had her arms folded across her chest, lips pursed in a thin line, and her eyes focused on the dark woods that had hidden her sister from her. If not for the tears streaming down her face, she would have looked quite fierce. Instead, she only looked on the verge of heartbreak.

"The cop says they have to stop looking soon because it's getting too dark, and the searchers could get lost too," Jamie explained sadly, glancing at his shoes again before suddenly grabbing at Jack's hand. "You can find her!"

"Do you think she'll see me?" Granted, it didn't matter. Jack was only slightly disappointed he hadn't already thought of the idea. Of course he could find her. He was a Guardian. Protecting children was sort of his thing.

"Yea! I told her all about you and what happened with Pitch and the other Guardians. I told Dawn too because we play this game where we'll tell a story, and Dawn draws it out for us. Dawn babysits me sometimes when my mom works late…not that I really need it but my mom's my mom and just...it's more because my mom was friend's with Dawn's mom than for me and…yea…" Jamie blushed slightly before getting back to the matter at hand, "she believes in you. Lily believes in everything. Even some stuff I'm not so sure about but…" Jamie trailed off, not wanting to offend anyone or anything.

Jack chuckled slightly, taking a moment to ruffle Jamie's hair. "Thanks for spreading the word about me. I should go find her now before it gets even colder. I'll see you later, guys." Before soaring over the crowd of adults and into the woods, Jack hovered in front of Dawn. Apparently her little sister believed in everything, Jack wondered, just for a moment, what she believed in, but pushed away the thought. "I'm going to find your sister now, so you don't have to cry anymore. Everything's going to be okay," Jack spoke softly, even though he knew she wouldn't hear him. Carefully, for reasons he couldn't quite explain other than the fact he wanted to, Jack brushed away the tears from her cheeks with a gentle (albeit chilly) winter breeze normally used for more mischievous purposes.

Dawn gasped slightly at the sudden rush of chill and touched at her cheeks.

"Dawn? What is it?" Mrs. Bennett asked concerned.

"I…I don't know...just…it's like…" Dawn furrowed her brow, in confusion. How could she explain the feeling of someone wiping away her tears? She stared straight through her answer, still terribly confused, but there were no more tears. "It was nothing. Just a chill…" Her answer would have saddened Jack if not for the fact she didn't sound so sure. Granted, he'd already wasted enough time. Now, he needed to find Lily. As he took off into the woods, Jack glanced up at the moon and whispered a plea for help. However, the Man in the Moon was silent as always.


End file.
